The National Foreign Exchange Administration Work Conference that was recently held in Beijing conveyed the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress, the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 18th CPC Central Committee, and the Central Economic Work Conference. It summed up foreign exchange administration work in 2013 in an all-round way, deeply analyzed the current status of the economy, finance, and the BOP, and made plans for foreign exchange administration in 2014. Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBC) and director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), delivered the work report, and deputy directors, discipline team heads, chief economists, chief accountants, and heads of the SAFE branches (foreign exchange administration departments) and divisions of the SAFE attended the meeting.

It was pointed out at the meeting that under the guidance of the PBC party committee, foreign exchange administration departments have accelerated changes in the concept and approach to foreign exchange administration, vigorously streamlining administration and delegating power to lower levels, adhering to administration by law, and continuously deepened reform and innovations of the foreign exchange administration system in 2013 consistent with the unified arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, with the aim of promoting a BOP equilibrium. They also improved monitoring and management of cross-border capital flows and enhanced the response to risks. They organized and carried out the CPC's mass line campaign, improved their practical work styles, and further strengthened their capability to serve the real economy, thus completing the tasks defined at the beginning of the year and delivering  good performance.

It was stressed at the meeting that acquiring a deep understanding of the strategic plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council is a foundation for delivering good performance in foreign exchange administration in 2014. The foreign exchange administration departments should follow the uniform arrangements of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee and the Central Economic Work Conference as well as the guidance of the "five shifts" in the concept and approach to foreign exchange administration to make progress while maintaining stability and carrying out reforms and innovations. With a focus on promoting a BOP equilibrium, they should accelerate reform and liberalization of foreign exchange administration, promote facilitation of trade and investment, speed up advancing the convertibility of the RMB capital account, and make use of the market's decisive role in allocating foreign exchange resources. They should also improve the operation and management of foreign exchange reserves, guard against shocks from two-way capital flows across borders, and maintain a bottom line of avoiding systemic and regional financial risks, so as to drive the economy and the society in the direction of continued and healthy development.

Plans for work priorities in foreign exchange administration in 2014 were also made at the meeting: First, accelerating advancement of reforms and innovations in foreign exchange administration by giving the market a decisive role. Second, accelerating improvements in the construction of a regulatory system for cross-border capital flows based on the requirement of promoting a BOP equilibrium. Third, speeding up the functional transformation of foreign exchange administration in accordance with the requirements of making better use of the role of government. Fourth, accelerating the pace of improving the operations and management system for large-scale foreign exchange reserves so as to maintain and to increase the value of the foreign exchange reserves. Fifth, accelerating advances in CPC construction, government integrity, the building of official teams, and internal management for the purpose of building a long-term mechanism for the CPC's mass line campaign.